The Past And The Future
by Ajluv
Summary: Artemis has his soul, but not his memory. He struggles to remember, struggles to return to a normal life and struggles to find out why exactly he gave up his life on that tower.


"Do you remember why you did it?" The question is rushed, spilling out into the frozen air with a sense of finality. Holly knows that there is no going back.

The clone stops, places his cup of Earl Grey on the tray, and starts fiddling with his coat hem. The movement seems awkward and wrong. The old Artemis never fidgeted.

_"Stop clicking that pen Holly! You're driving me mad!"_

_"This is what's keeping me sane! What's more important in a gunfight, my sanity or yours?"_

"Did what?" He's avoiding her question, glancing up at the ceiling, staring at the painting above her head, anywhere but her eyes. He looks like a cornered animal, someone framed for a crime that they didn't commit.

She knows she's lost him, for now at least.

"Nothing. Forget I said anything."

_"No. You are going to tell me what you were about to say. It's rude to lead a person on Holly."_

_Holly grins at Artemis. "Welcome back!" She cheers. "Artemis has returned from the claws of Atlantis Complex!"_

_"Tell me what you were going to say!" He insists, but his tone is grudging and he reluctantly excepts her hug._

"Artemis?" The room is dark, the heavy velvet curtains are shut. The air is...still.

Until she hears it. Then Holly understands.

She carefully makes her way to the farthest, darkest corner of the room, trying to be quiet so as not to frighten him.

Finally, her fingers brush designer fabric and she pulls a luminescent globe from her pocket. LEPrecon standard issue, glows for up to ten days. Can be powered by magic if desperate.

He's curled up in the corner, knees up to his chest, hands curled tightly over his ears. She realizes he's shaking.

"Everybody's looking for you." She says softly and his fingers twitch a bit.

"Why?" "Because they care." Holly's surprised at how quick she's able to answer, but at least it's the truth. She knows that's what he needs right now.

"That story. The one that you told me. About the fairies and Opal and Ho Chi Minh. It's true?"

"Yes."

"Those things that I did. True?"

"Yes."

"But you still care?"

"Yes."

"How?"

She doesn't want to tell him that it's something he will have to find out for himself, but hugs him as best as she's able to considering her small size and his awkward position.

She says "It'll be okay" instead.

_"You need to eat Artemis."_

_"I'll eat when I'm dead, which is what I will be if I don't get this paper in on time. Hawking can be so demanding sometimes."_

Finally the clone-Artemis, Holly corrects herself, is cleared for fresh air and he almost bounds to the heavy oaken doors, Myles and Beckett catching his heels and making him stumble. Somehow, his two left feet survived and he's just as clumsy as ever. Holly is grateful for this, everybody is. Even if he's a clone, even if he can't remember how to speak French, he's still uncoordinated, and that makes it better for everyone involved. A little piece of the old Artemis.

_"Oh Artemis. Not again."_

_"Bhy do you dound do duprided?"_

_"Because I thought that Ireland's child genius would have figured out a solution to clumsiness by now."_

The clone stares at the keyboard in confusion then back up at the screen that shows a familiar website, his favorite to hack. "What do I do again?"

Holly's ready to glare at Foaly, but he doesn't say anything except to answer Artemis's question. He doesn't even complain which is saying something considering that it's his blog that's being infiltrated.

_"Give me a second. I need to do something."_

_"What?"_

_"Hack this site."_

_"Oh not Foaly's blog! I love his scathing opinions of my superiors and his reviews of Elvish plays!"_

"So what's my favorite kind of tea?"

"You usually don't care, as long as it's strong." Butler says casually, although his heart is racing as fast as it can. "Would you like some?"

Artemis thought for a moment. "No. I suppose not."

_"I think we're out of tea." Holly calls from the LEPrecon break room kitchenette._

_Artemis, Butler and Juliet froze._

_Artemis's eye twitched, Juliet growled and Butler fingered his Big Saur. "Then we acquire some." He snarled._

"Do you remember?"

"Remember what?" He says softly, instead of the snap she was expecting.

"You know what."

They're sitting on a carved stone bench on a hill that overlooks the castle, trying to enjoy the sunset. But by know, even Butler is leaning in with a hopeful expression.

"No, but I have a vague idea. A hypothesis is you will."

They raise their eyebrows, all five of his friends.

"I sacrificed myself to save the world, but I had a good reason. I suppose maybe I'll never actually know, but I have a good idea." Artemis continued. "I was a very different person at twelve then who I was at fifteen. I was a criminal and then I wasn't. I gave myself up, because I had something worth saving and it wasn't my fortune." He said this in a crisp, matter of fact tone, but soon turned shy. Or as shy as Artemis Fowl could get anyhow.

"My friends." He kind of muttered.

Of course, the old Artemis wouldn't have mumbled, but he wasn't here. This was the new Artemis and he was something entirely different.

A good different.

**I hope I got all of the details right, it's been a while since I read The Last Guardian. As for where this came from...I have no idea. I just figured that it would be kind of frustrating for Clone Arty since he had his soul but not his memory. Then since I am an evil, evil person, I wrote Artemis Whump...almost...kind of...maybe...**


End file.
